really not disagreeing with you, only pointing out that the personal sins of the priest cannot invalid the Mass or sacraments which bring grace into the life of the soul.

Feb 10, '13, 12:30 pm

Gwendolen  Junior Member   Join Date: June 13, 2012 Posts: 129 Religion: beginning Catholic converstion

Re: Why do catholics leave the Catholic Church Quote: Originally Posted by Tigg  I understand this part and am really not disagreeing with you, only pointing out that the personal sins of the priest cannot invalid the Mass or sacraments which bring grace into the life of the soul. Does it damage the "moral voice" of the Church and appear to be hypocritical to the world? I'd say yes for those only looking at the human institution without understanding the supernatural dimension or regarding the fact that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ Himself . Speaking for myself, and for Catholics in general, ultimately, this would be equivalent to losing your faith if you let go of the fact that the leadership of the Church is the Holy Spirit, and no longer believed the Church to hold the Truth as revealed by God. And the Catholic Church, which I believe is in the process of purification, is not the only guilty one perpetrating this type of crime. the fact that the Catholic Church is not the only church guilty of this type of crime is irrelevant. It is hard to articulate, but the abuse was so widespread and heinous, and so ignored, that I think in some people's minds it ceased to "merely" be of the sin of man, and be a sin of the Church as an institution as a whole. I have personally did not witness truly devout Catholics leave because of this, but those who were less devout, and looking to strengthen their faith, this did not help. The Church may have been founded by Christ, but surely you can guess how one might look at the horror of what happened, and second guess if the Holy Spirit was really leading the Church. That could be really hard for some of the victims, and those close to them, to swallow. The mass also may be valid, but it would be hard for someone to receive thinking are the hands touching the Body of Christ going to later be molesting my child, if I am ever comfortable enough here to let my guard down. People may perceive they could potentially be trading a valid sacrament for potential loss of their child's innocence. This did not keep us from attending church, but when my son served in the Episcopal.. Church we later left, I did not leave him unattended. I was physically present when he went in the back to put on his robes. I did not leave him alone with the acolyte master, a genuine man of God whom I and my son adored. This was a direct result of the scandal in the Catholic church (even though the Episcopal Church certainly had enough scandals of its own) My teen daughter was as closely guarded. Although in our case the scandal did not keep us from church, it certainly changed my trust. I can sympathize with someone closer to what happened who would choose not to go. As a parent of a child old enough to leave your side, young enough to be very vulnerable, it is really hard.